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Three goals in 1:15 give Blue Jackets another win

Columbus scored three times in 75 seconds of the second period -- the fastest three goals in Blue Jackets history -- and defeated the Calgary Flames 5-1 to put their team-best points streak at 12 games.

Nick Foligno scored twice in 51 seconds before Artem Anisimov added an unassisted goal to turn a 1-1 game into a 4-1 blowout at Nationwide Arena.

"To be honest with you, I was worried the way the game was going," Columbus coach Todd Richards said. "They hit the post, and we come down the ice and Nick scores. And from then on, for about two minutes, then the game was over with."

Foligno's first came when he skated off the left-wing boards with the puck into a crowd of players between the circles. He pushed a shot that snuck under the right pad of Calgary goalie Miikka Kiprusoff at 13:05.

The second was created on a cycle when R.J. Umberger fought through the Flames defense, fell, got up and fed a pass to Foligno between the circles. His wrist shot from there went over Kiprusoff's catching glove at 13:56.

The two goals by Foligno were his fourth and fifth of the season and equaled his output of the prior 29 games. They were the fastest pair by one player in Blue Jackets history, 37 seconds quicker than two Umberger scored in a 2009 game.

"I think it was our line just doing what we can do," Foligno told Fox Sports Ohio between the second and third periods. "[When we're] using our big bodies hold on to the puck, we're a real dangerous line. I was the one getting rewarded tonight but it could have been any one of us."

Anisimov benefitted from a soft defensive-zone turnover by Flames forward Lee Stempniak, sending a shot from the right circle past a helpless Kiprusoff at 14:20 for his seventh of the season.

The former record of three goals in 1:46 was established during the Blue Jackets' first season, 2000-01.

"It's a huge boost for our team. You go from a 1-1 tie to a 4-1 lead, it's a big momentum swing," Foligno said. "And we were able to keep the lead and never look back."

Columbus won its third straight and is 8-0-4 during its 12-game surge.

"I think if you ask anybody in the hockey world, they probably never would have imagined this," Richards said of the streak. "All we did was take it game by game."

After playing nine of the past 10 at home, the Blue Jackets start a four-game road trip Saturday against the Nashville Predators.

"We understood if we were going to make a push for playoffs that it was going to have to come from our homestand," Foligno said. "We've put ourselves in a great position but our job's not done."

The Blue Jackets, at 13-12-6, are above .500 for the first time since they were 1-0-1 on Jan. 21. Their 32 points are the same as the eight-place San Jose Sharks' and within four of five other Western Conference teams, though Columbus has played the most games.

"Every point matters," forward Colton Gilles said. "The standings are close; you can't take a night off, you've got to keep going and finding ways to win."

The Blue Jackets took a 1-0 lead on a goal from fourth-liner Jared Boll. After a forecheck, Gilles' pass deflected off the skate of Calgary defenseman T.J. Brodie right to Boll in the slot. His high shot got inside the right post at 16:56 of the first period.

Gilles got his first assist on Boll's second goal of the season, then scored his first of the season with 6:46 left in the game.

"You are happy for those guys, probably more than anything else," Richards said. "You know how they fit in on the team because the whole bench is happy when those guys score."

Calgary tied the game 4:24 into the second period on a three-man passing play that ended with a goal by Curtis Glencross. Stempniak came out from behind the net with the puck, which he fed to Matt Stajan. His quick distribution found Glencross alone at the left post, where he scored his team-leading 13th.

Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky stopped the other 24 shots he faced, his eighth game allowing one goal or fewer in March.

"Our [defense] is playing great now too," Gilles said. "Everyone's buying in, especially in our D-zone, guys are blocking shots ... and sacrificing for the team."

Calgary, which lost 5-3 Thursday at Nashville, dropped all three games on this trip and is 0-8-1 in their past nine on the road. The Flames are 2-6-0 in their past eight overall heading into a home game Sunday against the St. Louis Blues.

"Turnovers in our zone and the puck is in our net," Flames coach Bob Hartley said. "It seems like that is our road recipe. We'll find out pretty quickly that it's a recipe that doesn't work for us.

"With the veteran group we have, one thing we should have is poise. We have to find some solutions in our locker room."

The Blue Jackets definitely have found theirs.

"We're playing good as a team from the goalie on out," Boll said. "It's a fun time of the year and it's fun to come to the rink.

"We obviously took care of stuff here at home, now we've got to take it on the road. ... It's another challenge for this team, and this team thrives on having challenges thrown at them."